Protein Skimmers and Micro bubles galor!

[sikk50]

I have a CPR series skimmer on my 55g tank, and for some reason its spitting a lot of micro bubbles into my tank.

I know its running properly, it usualy takes about a week to fill half way and it smells like bum when it does. So I'm at a lose. I know next to nothing about my tank, and these bubbles are frustrating the hell out of me. It just started doing it after my last water change.

Any ideas?

[TheApprentice707]

The bubbles are normal when you first set up the skimmer. How long have you had it set up?

You also might want to change the setting of the collection cup. I don't know if the cpr ones allow you to change the setting. Do you mean that it takes like a week to fill the collection cup up?

Also, the smell is normal. That is all the nasty stuff you WANT out of your tank so it is doing its job.

[sikk50]

I've had it set up for about 6 months and it just recently started this.

Yeah, it takes about a week for the cup to fill up. So I'm at a loss for ideas. the only thing i could think of is after I did this last water change I filled the tank a little more than I usualy do, so the 2" diamiter tube that expells the water back into the tank is entire submerged. So maybe its just cus the air has to go through the water.

[TheApprentice707]

yeah im not sure after 6 months you would think that it should be done with. But if you changed it too much maybe it had to go through the cycle once again.

It is annoying, but worth it because of how useful a skimmer is.

[Bullet]

Hi, I have a bak pak on my two year old 29 gal. and it will put out microbubbles anytime the surface tension of the water is broken, like when I feed the fish, or stick my hands in there for something. You can try cleaning your pump. That may help a little, or you could also let the air line to the pump run full blast if you don't mind the extra noise. There is also the bubble catching "sock" you could try out. Microbubbles can be from waterchanges too (especially with this skimmer). It is a decent skimmer for smaller moderately stocked reef aquariums. I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to live with the microbubbles, and it isn't a big deal to me. It usually stops after about 15 minutes or so. Its strange because mine started doing the bubbles after about 6 months of use too. One thing I havent tried is the cpr bubble trap. I don't want to put anymore equipment in the tank since its sumpless. From what I read they are basically a box with a sponge in it. I don't like the sponge idea, since it could get clogged and cause a flood. I hope this helps.